MacsvsmataWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Macs” and “mata” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#41,330
“Macs” frequency rank
#40,084
“mata” frequency rank
81414
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Macs mata
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Mac Plural des Substantivs mace

Where the eye mixes Macs and mata

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Macs (CVCC) and mata (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
Macs
4 ch
mata

Visual trap between Macs and mata

A purely visual mix-up. Macs ([mɛks]) and mata ([máːtáː]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81414, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Macs is recorded at frequency rank #41,330, classified as anoun, pronounced [mɛks]. mata is at rank #40,084, tagged as anoun, pronounced [máːtáː].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 81414, this pair ranks #176,301 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Macs vs mata

Shared letters: am. Private to "Macs": cs. Private to "mata": t.

"Macs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "mata" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Macs ← amcs · maccs · macss · masc · mcas · mmacs
  • mata ← amta · maat · matta · mmata · mtaa

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Macs" and "mata" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([mɛks] versus [máːtáː]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Macs" vs "mata" - which ranks higher?
"mata" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,084 in our German list, against #41,330 for "Macs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Macs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mata" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #176,301 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Macs" and "mata" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mata vs mora". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #176,301 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list